Wordless Wednesday

Try Out

This is one of the first tripod mugs I made last year.  I decided this morning that before I make a bunch of them I really should see if they stand as sturdily with beverage in them as they do when empty.

So far so good.    It seems to be very stabile.  Holds eight ounces with room for milk or cream.  I haven't tried it in the microwave yet.  I personally never put mugs in the zapper but I know people do so I like to know what will happen.

I'm okay with the design.  The base is glazed in a low fire Spectrum metallic; I have no idea wich one!  I meant to glaze the interior with clear, but used the clear with a little Mason Red-Brown that I use on terra cotta.  Live and learn!

We have had another period of heavy showers.  I am hopeful that it will clear enough for me to finally plant my dahlias.  Last year the caterpillars devastated them, so I decided to hold off until they were pupating.  With our wet, chilly spring they have not done well at all.  HURRAH!



as always, thanks for stopping by.....*s*

Wordless Wednesday

Catching Up?

I use the phrase catching up advisedly.  When are any of us truly caught up with stuff?  Ideas breed ideas, so always feeling a little behind may be a good thing!

I have been glazing and painting stuff like crazy, and also making things. This is the joy and benefit of doing bisque and glaze at the same temperature.

I made this pig around a balloon last week as an experiment.  Taking a little time for a new idea helps keep me going during busy times.  I wanted her to have a sort of patched together structure, which worked quite well.  Unfortunately, there was a minor but time consuming emergency elsewhere.  Poor Pig was left out for too long and split over the balloon.  Most of the time my balloons lose air relatively quickly; however, not this time!  See what happens when you go for the quality product?

I managed to get these photos, mostly for my own records.  This looks like a neat thing to explore when I have more time.  Meanwhile Poor Pig went to the slop bucket!

Oh and yes, she does have three legs.  Three legs are so much easier to stabilize than four.  Three legs add to the general goofiness I am aiming for! 

I picked my last dahlia a week ago today.  There were some buds I could have brought in for forcing, but didn't.  This is a smaller version of what were some huge flowers earlier during warmer weather.  Today all the toes are coming up and will be stored in peat over the winter.

The lack of rain was hard on a lot of plants this summer.  As soon as we started getting regular showers and the weather cooled just a bit the flowers went crazy....good crazy!

 Aloysius and KikiLaSois are back in their favorite box by the stove so I guess cold weather is here to stay for a while.  We have offered some very comfy kitty beds, but the box with packing bubble sheets is the preferred resting spot.  Winter uses the other bed quite happily!

I have been patching my 4RUNNER with fiberglass to get it through inspection.  It's not difficult but I am not fond of fiberglass and resin and bondo.  For the last bits I am going to rig a small drying tent with a tarp and a heat lamp.  I really should have started earlier, but it was far more fun to lie around the pool all summer!

It looks like we will be enjoying a sunny but chilly day today.  Toes crossed that everyone is enjoying weather to their liking!

As always, thanks for stopping by.........*s*

Lost Stuff Found

The dahlias toes that I found at the beginning of August have begun to bloom.  The toes were in a bucket of dry peat and cat litter that I thought I had emptied.  All I really wanted to do was give them enough growing time to get strong enough to make it through the winter.  The blooms are a real bonus. These is also a lavender and purple that is starting to open.  Toes crossed that it makes it through the oncoming rain.  Mr Harrelson had a find old time chewing up a bunch of them that blew over in some wind a few weeks ago, so we moved them up close to the house.  Even the gnawed ones are showing signs of buds.  Maybe frost will hold off for a few more weeks!

I made the pigs and garlic pots back in the fall of 2011.  The garlic pots dried so fast that I never cut the air holes in them.  The pigs were supposed to be banks.  I cut the slits but never made the cork holes on their bellies.  Then their feet fell off and were glued back on with spooze.  I saved them for glaze tests and experiments.  I went digging for them yesterday because I was thinking about making a bunch of test bowls; remembered these guys; it only took me an hour to find them!

I may make a few of a better size for our upcoming Christmas Sale.....we'll see, grasshopper....we'll see!

We are expecting a couple of days of rain to start soon.  Toes crossed we get some heavy showers.  Things are not dire....but rain is good.  It's amazing how the garden has picked up with the few inches we have had.  Plants are much happier with rain than with hand watering!

BTW to see how dogs are celebrated with their own holiday in Nepal go to Jenny Mendes's blog!

We've had warm days and cool nights; I hope everyone is enjoying good weather too.

As always, thanks for stopping by...........*s*